Thread: Dream genes

I somehow doubt it, as to me it seems that just about everyone who isn't in the right mindset and/or doesn't keep a dream journal has crappy recall. Maybe some genes make it easier or harder for a person to recall dreams, but my opinion is it's a matter of trying. It might take some people longer to get good at dream recall than others, but at the end it's the hard work that counts almost every time. Keep at it, and you'll get good. When I started I had no recall (it's not great but it's better now).

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Yay! This is my 100th post here. Woohoo. Totally random, but so cool. 8)

Sorry, that really was completely random, but I had to get it out of my system.

Originally posted by ClockWise
apparently females are more natural LDers

What makes you think this??

About the other thing...I'm not really sure if there is a "dream gene".
Maybe. Who knows?
You know my parents say all the time (when I ask) that they don't dream or they don't remember thier dreams, but I've never really had any problems w/ recall.
It's only improved w/ the dream journal I write in after waking.
If you haven't already started one you should try. It really does help.

Absolutely anyone can recall their dreams and be lucid. When you start spending energy into figuring out reasons why you can't then you never will. Im sure its in the tutorials but I have to stress the very simple way to recall your dreams...this will work for ANYONE, with a little persistence.

When you wake up in the morning...the absolute first thing you should do is STAY STILL!! Dont move a muscle...just lay there. Think about where you just "were". It might not be obvious but it doesnt matter. Its when you start thinking about other things ie. the day ahead of you, what time it is....etc that it will be very hard to remember your dreams. Lay there for 10 minutes. Dont get up. Relax! No stress. youre just laying down and feeling the afterglow of where you just "were". It might sound dumb but you'd be very surprised how effective this is. Most people who cant remember their dreams dont think about it when they wake up and only ask the question after theyve been up for a minute already. Do this every day and it WILL work. The hard part is just getting in the habit of remembering to remember!

ok you get the idea. Just do it basically. I promise you, however much energy you put into this, is exactly how much you will get out. That goes the same with lucid dreaming. It only seems like difficult. It's all surprisingly easy really...

Probably the best thing to do in my opinion is to start a dream journal. It is a fool-proof way to get recall as long as you are concentrated on your goals of improving recall. Here are a couple ways of doing this (read the tutorials for more accurate/better instructions, I am not a Lucid Student, not Scholar).
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If you can do this (I can't) then:
[list]1. Set an alarm clock to go off during each of your REM cycles, so that you wake up right from a dream.
2. Then, carefuly without moving a muscle, think about your dream(s) you remember.
3. Once you have recalled all the details , somehow write it all down on a notepad, while holding the dream in your head. Note that you can't turn on the lights for this, as light kills recall, so raised line paper or a light pen will most likely be necessary.[list]

I can't do this as I have a crappy alarm clock, and don't want to lose precious sleep.
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If you can't (like me), then:
[list]1. If you ever naturally wake up in the middle of the night, then you should A. right it down (best thing to do), or B.(what I do) Go over as many details as you remember in your head, to try to get it into your memory, so it won't get wiped (hopefully).
2. In the morning do what Gameover said. If you don't have ten mininutes, then do it for five, it will still work, but ten minutes will do more.
3. (right way) If at all possible then write the dream(s) down RIGHT AWAY, or at least within a few minutes.
4. (Last resort) If step 3 is not possible, then at least think about the dreams occasionally during the day, and write them later. This can work pretty well for me, but I have a good memory. Also, one time when i had like 4 dreams in one night (my record), I ended up forgetting one because thinking about all of them is kind of inconvenient/difficult.
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These are my personal observations of what seems to be working for myself and other members. There are better instructions to follow in the tutorial sections, and you should definitely read them. Remember that the first instructions are the better ones, and I would highly recommend it. Also, if possilbe follow steps 1. A. from the second set of instructions if they are what you choose to use, as it is a guaranteed way of not losing at least 1 dream. Again step 3 from the second set of instructions is a much better and recommended than step 4. Step 4 is really a last resort, and is not recommended to do. I do it because otherwise I have to wake up much earlier or I won't get to school on time, but it is anything but optimal.

ClockWise wrote: *
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apparently females are more natural LDers *[/b]

What makes you think this?? [/b][/quote]

I've read it in a number of places.

If there's not a dream gene then why do different people have naturally different recall and lucid abilities? Thinking about it you're probably right that it's not a gene because then you wouldn't be able to improve your ability. So what then?

Same reason some people some people are better than others at anything else. If you grown up never talking about dreams with your family, you'll probably not be very aware of your dreams. My mom and i always shared interesting dreams so I was always at least somewhat aware of my dreams.

EDIT: and yeah, dream journal is a great idea. I have no patience for one myself, but when I started out I wrote down all my dreams. It's an amazing thing when you're quickly writing out your dream and more and more comes to you. I used to start out each journal with a column on the side of the paper where Id write down all keywords to remember. It might look liks:

Mountain, tuna, falling cat, cave, pick-pocket, city alley, turkey salad...

and then as Im writing my dream Ill remember..

"I was on a mountain, climbing up and I saw a cat. I put some tuna on the ground and he ran away and fell off the cliff! I was caught up with the horrible site of the cat falling that a pickpocket came out of a cave from behind me and managed to steal my wallet. I chased him through a city and down an alley. When i found him he was eating a turkey salad, which I thought was strange...."

Well, I made this example up, but you get the idea. Helped me anyways.

Genes control everything. The right combination of genes = better at attaining lucidity.

My nucleotides apparently hate me and have given me poor abilities at recall and achieving lucidity.

best advice I could give anyone is to focus hard on hating and even despising your nucleotides. Then you'll be lucid in no time!